One Health is the collaborative effort of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain sustainable optimal health for the ecosystem*. It is a cultural and behavioral concept with socioeconomic elements and impact.

*a biological community of living organisms (humans, animals, plants, and microbes) and their physical environment interacting as a system

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Faculty and researchers at the Texas
A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
(CVM) have turned the recent increase in Chagas disease cases in
Texas into a learning opportunity by developing an online case
study learning module. The case study was one of only 15 selected
for web
publication by the American Association of Veterinary Medical
Colleges’ (AAVMC) and the Association for Prevention Teaching and
Research’s (APTR) joint One Health Interprofessional Education
Initiative.

Chagas disease, an infectious disease caused by the
parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and transmitted by the
kissing bug, has many Texans concerned. Recent spread of Chagas
disease, which affects humans and animals in the southern United
States and Latin America, has made media headlines. This increase
in cases and growing concern over the disease led researchers to
develop the Chagas case study as an educational tool for health
professionals.

The module was created through a collaboration between faculty
and researchers at the CVM, Baylor College of Medicine, and Texas
A&M Health Science Center–McAllen. The module was supported
through funding from the Texas A&M One Health Initiative.

The module’s content was developed by faculty and students at
the CVM: Associate Professor Dr. Ashley Saunders, expert in
clinical cardiology in dogs, as well as Assistant Professor Dr.
Sarah Hamer, Ph.D. student Rachel Curtis-Robles, and veterinary
student Trevor Tenney, experts in the ecology and epidemiology of
the kissing bug and T. cruzi. Additional content
addressing public health was contributed by Dr. Ann Millard,
associate professor at the Texas A&M Health Science
Center–McAllen, and Dr. Melissa Garcia, research associate at
Baylor College of Medicine.

The case was developed in collaboration with The Center for
Educational Technologies (CET) at the CVM, including Dr. Jodi
Korich and Dr. Jordan Tayce. The web-based case study allows
students to make a series of clinical decisions as they follow a
real case from diagnosis through treatment and is supplemented with
instructional video lectures, diagnostic charts, and other
reference materials in an interactive and media-rich format.

“The case study turned out really cool, and it's interactive.
That is the beauty of working with the CET,” said Saunders, who was
designated as an AAVMC One Health Scholar as the principal
investigator. “The whole point is that faculty at another
university in other health professions could teach their students
with a case study that was developed by experts from Texas
A&M.”

“It's all digitally interactive,” said Tayce, an instructional
assistant professor at the CET. “A user can be in any location at
any time and still go through this case. That's what makes our case
study unique.”

The case study features a dog diagnosed with Chagas disease in
Texas, but it is not limited to veterinary applications. According
to the researchers, the Chagas case highlights the One Health
Initiative by focusing on important connections between humans,
animals, and the environment. Therefore, it can be used by students
in a variety of disciplines, including human and veterinary
medicine.

According to Saunders, the collaborations that built the case
study are what make it so versatile. “The AAVMC and APTR wanted the
case study to not just be veterinary focused, but they also wanted
to include people from all disciplines,” she said. “I knew we had
enough people, and it was going to be a successful collaborative
effort. I knew we could do it, so I started pulling people in from
all different places to help us.”

The Chagas case study uses technology to enhance students’
knowledge and understanding of the disease, including the clinical
presentation and cardiac manifestations in dogs, when to test for
infectious diseases, kissing bug ecology and epidemiology, and
client education on animal and human health aspects and kissing bug
management.

“At the CET, we work to make sure we're using proven educational
practices in all of the material we build,” Tayce said. “We work
with the faculty to make sure that from the beginning and all the
way through to the end we're using these established educational
practices when we create content.”

Saunders said this module is not only suited for veterinary
students, but also for students in other health-related
disciplines. She noted that, as a veterinarian, she could imagine
the benefits of increased education. “One of the difficult things
about Chagas disease is the questions I receive from owners about
how to save their dog,” she said. “We can definitely help the dogs,
but even more important is what goes on at home, like where did
they get exposed and who else can get infected. So, we brought in
all these experts to build a case that was comprehensive and a
really great collaborative effort.”